Even after the Bundesliga restart, Schalke 04 is still in crisis. The 0: 4 in the derby in Dortmund was followed on Sunday by a 0: 3 against Augsburg. The new coach Heiko Herrlich celebrates his premiere victory with the guests.
Gelsenkirchen (dpa) - FC Schalke 04 continues its downward slide in the Bundesliga. Also on the second ghost match day after the game resumed, the Revierclub suffered a bitter defeat in the 0-3 (0-1) against FC Augsburg on Sunday.
The team of coach David Wagner has been without a win for nine games with a goal difference of 2:22 in series. Eduard Löwen with a directly converted free kick (6th minute) and substitute Noah Joel Sarenren Bazee (76th) and Sergio Cordova (90th + 1) ended the weak away series of the Bavarian Swabians.
"It tastes really good. It was a long dry spell," cheered Augsburg's Florian Niederlechner, who certified "a really great game" for his team at the DAZN streaming service. For the first time after five games abroad, the FCA could cheer again and give his new coach Heiko Herrlich the first three.
"I'm really happy that it will also start for me," said Herrlich before the game. For him it was the premiere as an FCA coach on the coaching bench. A week earlier in the 1: 2 win against Wolfsburg, he had voluntarily given up his assignment after shopping in the quarantine training camp before the Bundesliga restart and violating the rules. With video analysis and pressing training, he set his team up for the task at Schalke. Herrlich's mood improved even more when he was able to cheer after only six minutes.
Löwen took a direct free kick from 25 meters in front of the Schalke goal and brought the Swabians into the lead with a fine shot. With the first goal after four away games without a goal of his own, he prevented a negative club record for the Augsburg team, who won Schalke for the first time and collected important points in the fight against relegation.
The offensive game of the Royal Blues, which had been changed in three positions after the 0: 4 in Dortmund, left something to be desired. The FCA cleverly delivered the rooms and stood defensively stable against Schalke, who also lacked ideas in the middle due to the lack of Amine Harit. "I don't want to say that we were clearly inferior. We were aggressive from the start," said Schalke's Daniel Caligiuri, but complained that the chances of winning were too weak.
Rabbi Matondo, who had slipped into the starting line-up, still had the best chance of equalizing after less than half an hour, but guest goalkeeper Andreas Luthe prevented the 1-1 with a foot defense.
The low-level encounter hardly picked up speed in the second half either. Schalke had almost three times as much ball possession as the opponent, but made nothing of it. Even when Edeljoker Ahmed Kutucu took in for the injured Suat Serdar after 56 minutes, Schalke had no more train to the goal. Opportunities? Nothing.
In contrast, Schalke's keeper was in the spotlight a few more times. In the 69th minute Markus Schubert parried a free kick by Philipp Max. With 2: 0 by substitute Sarenren Bazee, Augsburg earned the first Bundesliga victory in the ninth attempt in Gelsenkirchen in the end. In added time Cordova even increased to 3: 0 for the guests. Schalke must fear more than his return to the European Cup.
Game info
Squad FC Schalke 04
Squad FC Augsburg
